The Fresh Loaf

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Making yeast water in summer

BXMurphy's picture
BXMurphy

Making yeast water in summer

I've noticed that my dining room is consistently 79°F this summer with the air conditioning on. What a great time to try making yeast water following dabrownman's Yeast Water Primer.

I bought my organic raisins and apples at the local foo-foo health nut store, mashed and cubed per instructions and will worry the mess to death for the next few days with shaking and fanning, honeying it up and feeding it more oranges than I would ordinarily eat myself.

Are bread heads out of their minds? :)

Murph

Comments

Ru007's picture
Ru007

A special bunch! We're just a bit quirky is all :)

Hope the yeast water goes well, never tried it myself but I've seen great loaves made with it here. 

Happy baking! 

BXMurphy's picture
BXMurphy

Bread heads do have a way of making me do a double-take with a look of surprise.

Yeast water is so much easier to get going than a sourdough starter and I'd recommend you give it a try the next time you anticipate a stretch of warmer temperatures. I use a Mason jar with the two-part cap and the gas fizzes out when I shake it, making for a bit of a wipe-up afterwards. But, that gas is in there and acting up after only two days.

Mind you, whatever is in the jar after only two days is probably going to kill you (think fermenting gym socks), but it should be fine (right?) after a week. :)

I'm excited to try out this dimension for bread baking.

Murph

BXMurphy's picture
BXMurphy

It's nice that there's always something bread-related to do. I've found that even if I'm too hot and grumpy to bake, I can at least mix up some yeast water in the heat. It's coming along pretty well, too!

I also have some seven week-old NMNF starter. I'm curious to see if either one will make me sick when I get around to baking with them. I'm not too worried; I have insurance and some of the world's best hospitals are just a short med-flight away here in Massachusetts.

Murph

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

sick!  But, it can push the easily addicted to more hazardous drugs like the dark side and  pumpernickel:-)

BXMurphy's picture
BXMurphy

...annnd the psycho bread ward checks in... :) You understand I'm teasing you, right?

Hi, dabrownman! You must be reading my mind on the dark side. I can't imagine a tastier bread than a rye or pumpernickel. I think that's my Holy Grail. You can have the baguettes - gimme some of that sweet tang! And you know what, lemme put it in a pan for a regular slicing loaf, too. My next free-forms will be batards as I have zero practice with them.

In fact, it was after reading about how you were able to open up the crumb with yw that got me going. I can't believe how super-easy it is to get yw up and running. I've been doing all the reading from RayRon, et al, and they certainly have the science down but just reading your primer where it says just chop and squish, fan and shake, is all anyone really needs.

TFL reminds me of a bowl of granola: whatever ain't fruits and flakes... is nuts! :)

Murph

BXMurphy's picture
BXMurphy

The first day after adding a teaspoon or tablespoon of honey (I eyeballed it) and ignoring the yeast water.

Looks good, I think. Kind of gnarley. Makes me want to hit it with a baseball bat because I think it's plotting against me. I'll keep an eye on it in case it makes a sudden move but I think I'm safe so far.

Murph

BXMurphy's picture
BXMurphy

I've been ignoring my yeast water for the past three days. I just opened the jar and took a whiff. Nice and yeasty!

I strained out the fermenting fruit and fed 50g of yeast water to 50g of KA all-purpose flour. Let's see what happens.

I rinsed the jar and put some of the apples and raisins back in along with something close to three tablespoons of yeast water and about a tablespoon of honey (I eyeballed both). Fed it 20 more organic raisins and a cubed up half an apple. Filled the jar to 3/4 full with bottled water. Gave it a shake and will leave it sit at 79° F for another week.

I'm freezing the spent fruit to put in a future bread for an extra layer of flavor.

Murph

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

with flour and water it will make a levain too - even after freezing but it is slow - just like YW.

BXMurphy's picture
BXMurphy

The second Saturday with my new friend, a jar of yeast water. No judging! :)

Last Saturday, I mixed 50g YW with 50g AP flour and after 12 hours, it rose 30%. I put that mixture in the refrigerator for future use. I fed my YW per instructions and just let it sit on the table undisturbed (no shaking, no taunting) for a whole week.

This Satuday, after just leaving it sit there for the week, I knew it was time to "do something" to it. There was a nice lace of bubbles floating on the top. The raisins were washed out, some floating, some sunk to the bottom. The liquid was clear and amber-colored. The apples looked rather fresh and, floating on the top, reminded me of fruit cocktail. Along the bottom could be found a 1/4 inch of sediment that I know would have some yeast in it.

I shook it up, strained and refreshed per dabrownman's Yeast Water Primer. Added 50g YW to 50g dmsnyder's 70/20/10 AP/WW/Rye flour mixture. Six hours later, this nascent starter has risen ~20%. I'm eager to see the full 12 hour result.

I know it's just a matter of time but I might fan and shake the jar a couple of times next week. Or not... Also, I've been reading that it's OK to let the fruit stay put until it sinks to the bottom. Another baker eats a lot of apples and tosses the cores into a quart jar of YW and removes the oldest-looking cores.

Yeast is programmed to grow and not die. It's tough to screw this stuff up. I'll be patient and start reading up on recipes...

Murph

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

honey for feed.  Leaving it all week on the counter with no food or attention was not a good thing I'm guessing.  Better to feed it half way through the week and use the discard to make levain for bread:-)

Happy YW baking Murph

BXMurphy's picture
BXMurphy

Thanks, dabrownman! I didn't forget the honey. :)

Your yw primer seems to suggest that's there not much to do after the first week of fanning and shaking so I just let it sit there to see what happens. I did do the levain test last week and this one, too.

I have to tell ya, the darned thing seems to be doing pretty good! I'm developing a nice foam on top - not like RonRay's photo but, you know, coming along. I think this week's levain test will double in 24 hours. I'm going to let 'er ride and try baking tomorrow.

I've been eyeballin' your 100% Nothing bread recipe.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/41650/nothing-bread-100-unbleached-yeast-water-white-bread

You didn't mention the amount of flour in total dough but I know you like an 800g loaf and I'm probably comfortable at around 70% hydration. I'll do the math.

I have maybe 60g discard yw from last week and this in the fridge. I'm thinking of using both for some of whatever water is required. I'm guessing a faster rise and funkier taste. :) What's your guess?

Murph

BXMurphy's picture
BXMurphy

Maybe I'll take that down to 67% hydration given how yw is reputed to open crumb and if I'm doing dabrownman's 100% Nothing but AP, which is soupy to begin with...

And now that I took another look at my levain test, it does look like it'll just about double in 12-13 hours...

Time to bulk ferment something in the refrigerator and get to bed! Yay!

Murph

BXMurphy's picture
BXMurphy

I've neglected my yeast water on the dining room table for the past two weeks. It was about 79° F the whole time. Poor thing just sat there, undisturbed, unopened. Nothing. I finally got over my laziness today and decided to feed it.

There was still a nice and fresh-looking lace of froth on the surface. The raisins were rather spent. The apples were turning brown but still held their shape. It smelled just like a boiler-maker cocktail. Beer and alcohol. Yeah, I'd drink that... but I thought better of it. I'd CERTAINLY bake with it. Not a trace of off-odors or discoloration. The liquid between the fruit still floating and those that sank was clear and amber-colored. Like a nice whiskey.

I fed per instructions. Four old raisins, four old apple dices. I poured off the clear liquid after straining and added three tablespoons or so of the sediment-laden old yeast water back into the unrinsed jar. Added a tablespoon of honey, half an apple, diced, and 20 raisins. Filled 3/4 with bottled water and shook it up. A very satisfying 1/4 inch layer of froth immediately formed. I'll leave it uncovered for four hours and into the refrigerator, covered, it goes.

I thought about throwing away the spent fruit but, nah, I put it into a zip-loc baggie and put that into the freezer with the other spent fruit. I bet it will make a nice add-in for a rye bread.

Murph